


On the wings of a Night Fury

by lusium



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Or an alternate title, the au that nobody ordered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 05:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3277646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lusium/pseuds/lusium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after HTTYD2, this is in a different universe from the stories with Drago's bewilderbeast that I'm still writing >-></p>
<p>Anyway,</p>
<p>An Au that after Toothless had challenged Drago's Bewilderbeast and won the title of Alpha, Hiccup started noticing that his body was acting different than it usually had... and not in the good way either. </p>
<p>He could have sworn he didn't have scales on the backs of his hands a week ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rising Suspicions

**Author's Note:**

> This is something that I thought of at 3 am, and i haven't slept so here.
> 
> It's probably terrible, I'll go back through and revise stuff when I'm more awake.

As the smoke cleared, Hiccup stared in confusion up at the Night fury standing protectively over him, barely seeing the pulsating blue rushing down the split fins in the reptiles tail. Even as he’d launched onto one of the large icicles, roaring a challenge to the massive aquatic dragon. His heart hammered in his chest as he watched the event unfold, had to remind himself to breathe when the tusk had nearly hit Toothless. 

He barely heard his mother tell him what Toothless was doing, that he was challenging this… bewilderbeast with the title of alpha in order to protect him. (He couldn’t help but feel flattered at that)

Even as the dragons migrated from around the Bewilderbeast, to roaring in unison with Toothless, even to firing shots off at the enormous dragon. He acted out of habit when Toothless lept down from the icicle to stand just in front of him, shoulder lowered slightly for him to climb onto the saddle. He did so with practiced ease, metal gears hooking into the prosthetic foot to keep it from sliding free. 

He wasn’t stopping himself from talking, he didn’t think of the words as he spoke to Drago, about earning a dragons trust. Even watching the bewilderbeast cower, and sink back into the water, without a trace.

His mind was almost on autopilot, getting him through the day with minimal focus on his part, helping with the beginning rebuilding projects, even as he internally grieved. Next thing he knew, he was staring up at the dark ceiling of his house, Toothless laying on the blanket beside him, as if trying to help with something… Hiccup didn’t pay much mind to it. Only shutting his eyes to try and sleep.

Ignoring the faint ache that slowly presented itself in his back.

* * *

He started having suspicions that something was wrong when he’d woken up that next day with a searing pain in his shoulderblades, and when he reached back to try and see if he was sleeping on something, that there was bone sticking out from his back. Hiccup yelped in surprise, startling the Night fury from where it was laying peacefully on the slab of rock in his room, (he wasn’t sure when Toothless had relocated to the slab of rock to be honest.)

His head was pounding, though it was probably because he’d fallen off his bed, and instead of landing on his back, he’d twisted around and gone face down on the floor for some reason. The coo from Toothless was the only thing that made him look up, to see the worried gaze of the reptile peering down at the lumps in the back of his shirt. 

“I’m fine, bud.” Hiccup managed, pushing himself slowly to his feet so he wouldn’t hurt himself any more than he already had, mentally thanking that Toothless had decided to ignore his words and just shove his face under his chest to help him stand. Toothless only let out a worried warble, that Hiccup only waved his hand around to.

“I swear, theres nothing wrong. Just a little sore from last night is all… Those baby Scuttleclaws were harder to steer than you might think.” Hiccup said, twisting himself to keep the risen areas in his shirt hidden from the Dragon’s disbelieving gaze.

Before Toothless could grunt anything else, Hiccup had already managed to walk down the stairs, and to the front door. Pushing the door open only to stare at the face of the only Stormcutter he knew, looking almost guilty for something. But that thought had quickly faded away when he realized that it was only Cloudjumpers’ normal facial expression. 

“Hey, Cloudjumper” Hiccup greeted, trying not to sound _too_ tired he was bored of sitting in his house all day anyway, even though it had only been maybe five minutes since he’d woken up.

Once he managed to get past Cloudjumper, everything went as normal, just with more breaking ice from where it’d been blasted, and pain in his shoulders, as if the bones were trying to move. But that was quickly written off as his shirt just beating against them. Even as the winds would blow, and cause the ache to return with a vengeance.

Even when the other vikings gave him strange looks, Gobber especially. He ignored it, focused on the task at hand.

* * *

His next suspicion came when he’d gottenToothless to go take a break, the Night fury hadn’t let him out of its sights since he’d gotten outside. Astrid sat herself down next to him with an exhausted sigh, Hiccup could barely see Stormfly messing with Toothless from the corner of his eye. 

“Hiccup,” Astrid’s voice made him turn his head over to the blonde viking, only to see she was staring at his hands.   
“What?” Hiccup asked after a moment, looking down at his hands to see what she was staring at didn’t occur to him, even when she asked her next question.  
“Is Toothless shedding or something?” She asked, and Hiccup only shook his head.  
“No, he’s…” A pause to look over his shoulder at the Night Fury (now laying on the Deadly Nadder with a stick in his jaws) to look at the dragon’s scales. “He’s just fine, why?” He asked, turning his attention back to Astrid.

“... You have scales on the back of your hands Hiccup.” Astrid told him, lifting his hand so he would actually look. 

 

Glancing down to see what she was talking about, he froze. Small black scales ran over the backs of his hands, covering parts of his fingers, and when he flipped his hand over, they were spreading to his palm, a small cluster seeming to spring up out of nowhere. Hiccup only felt confusion rush through his mind. Was he hallucinating or something? Did he eat a bad fish or was this all from exhaustion?

His silence must have been a concern, seeing as Astrid pushed against his arm to get his attention, he was barely able to hear her words over the sound of blood rushing through his ears, and the pounding of his heart.

“You should go talk to your mom, Hiccup.”   
“... yeah…” Hiccup agreed quietly, mindlessly pushing himself to his feet and walking off in the direction he somehow knew the Stormcutter and his mother would be.

Toothless had quickly joined him, sniffing at his hands curiously before the dragon had stopped to stare at his face, nearly tripping Hiccup with his tail.

Though before Hiccup could say anything, The sound of Cloudjumper’s roar alerted him to Valka’s arrival, tilting his head up just enough to see her hopping down from the four-winged dragon’s back, lightly patting the reptiles’ crest.

“Morning Hiccup,” Valka said after a moment, not seeming to catch the concern on Toothless’s face, or the lifeless motions from her son.  
“”rning, hey, mom” he said, making the woman stop where she was, looking over her shoulder at her son in confusion,   
“yes Hiccup?” She asked, though hiccup didn’t respond, simply walking closer at a pace that one could describe a tired gronckle of having. 

When he was close enough, he held out his hands, palms facing up for her to see the scales rippling across the pale skin. Cloudjumper’s knowing coo was enough to make him talk. 

“... What is this?” Hiccup asked her, voice quiet as though he was still processing the information he knew.

Valka’s silence only made him dread the answer before she finally spoke.

“Toothless must have shed a few scales on your bed last night, thats all.” She said, though her voice spoke that she was hiding something…

Hiccup didn’t have the energy to ask her what it was. He simply nodded his head, and accepted the answer. He’d figure out what it was after he took a nap. For some reason he felt like he’d been running around all day without a break of any sort. 

“... Go take a nap, you look tired.” Valka said, glancing at Toothless quickly, even as the Night Fury slightly dipped his head and managed to somehow worm himself under Hiccup to where the small viking was sitting on the saddle. Carefully wandering back towards the house, though slower than usual in an attempt to keep from making Hiccup fall from the saddle.


	2. Draconic Mannerisms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup manages to get to sleep, only to wake sometime later from something he could have sworn sounded like it was in his room.  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> ... But he was the only one even in his house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I edited a bit of the first chapter, and added a little bit more, to hopefully make it flow better. This chapter won't be in Hiccups POV quite as long, since I'll be throwing Toothless's in there somewhere.
> 
> So yeah.
> 
> I'm going to try to get these chapters longer and longer if I can.

Even as Toothless managed to place Hiccup on the bed, the Night Fury couldn’t help but worry about the Young Viking. His scent wasn’t right, it was more… dragon than it was normally, and the scent wasn’t from any of the dragons he knew, or even from those that had come to Berk due to the Bewilderbeast. Yet, the scent was still familiar. Possibly because it had mixed with Hiccups? He wasn’t sure.

The reptile watched quietly, concern lingering in his gaze as Hiccup shifted around in the bed, almost falling out at one point, though before he could move, it had almost appeared like the boy had pulled himself back into the bed by something other than his arms, or his legs. But there was nothing there… 

His thoughts quickly returned to when he had followed Hiccup to find Valka, only to see her and Cloudjumper returning from a flight. When the boy had shown her the scales blossoming along his hands, the Stormcutter had made a knowing coo, telling him to return once Hiccup had been put to bed. He’d better not keep the elder Dragon waiting. 

He descended the stairs quickly, sparing a glance over his shoulder to make sure Hiccup was still in bed before he’d left the house. Sniffing around at the air to see if he could detect Cloudjumpers’ scent, and he could, it was just faint where he was at. Like he was trying to hide from something. Toothless followed the scent as far as he could while on the ground, reaching a small divide where the island was still connected to another piece, just further down. 

He peered back at the artificial tail fin, the red a stark contrast between the sleek black of his scales. Debating his only options. Sit and wait for Cloudjumper to come find him because he couldn’t fly on his own, or risk attempting to fly the distance from where he currently stood, to the other side of the divide. And even though deep in his stomach something told him not to do it, he still tried.

Backing up a few feet, he focused on spreading his wings open, making sure he was ready before launching himself, claws tore through the soft dirt as he moved, propelling him into the air as his heart lurched, Even as he felt solid ground once more under his feet, he couldn’t stop running, his brain was trying to tell him to calm, to stop running, to stop beating his wings against the air, looking for updrafts that didn’t exist. 

The only thing that managed to get him to stop, was slamming into the four-winged form, even from his momentum, it didn’t budge, only turned its head to peer down at him with a simple grunt, opening the upper pair of wings that Toothless hadn’t realized were wrapped around something in order to allow whatever was hidden to be seen.

Of course it was Valka.

Of course it was.

* * *

_“He’s at that age already,”_

He heard her say, his hands balled into fists around the thin fabric of his blanket, twisting around to dislodge the pain in his back, and instead felt something break out from under the slotted wooden bed that he currently slept on. It sounded like his mother was right outside his door, talking to someone. Gobber maybe? no, he didn’t hear any of the sounds that Gobber made when moving, or even his loud breathing… Who was it?

_“You both have a close emotional bond, it triggered it.”_

Emotional bond? It couldn’t be Gobber, she never spoke that way to him, Was she talking to Toothless? or maybe even Astrid? He heard trilling, the tone was familiar, Toothless. Was that who she was talking to? She was talking to toothless! He tried to block out the sound, tried to sleep, but curiosity got the best of him, so he listened more.

_“It starts with the bones, then the scales..” The trilling again, though significantly deeper in pitch_ , Cloudjumper.  
 _“yes, thank you Cloudjumper; then the scent, and finally-” The same trilling._  
 _“Thank you; then it’s complete. And all you have to do, is look after him while he gets used to it. Then we just have to hide him from everyone until-”_

He stopped listening, who did they have to hide? Were they actually talking about him? Hiccup felt the bones protruding from his back tremble. He threw the blanket from over him, forced his body to listen as he pushed himself to his feet, felt the scales on his palms move as if they belonged there. Felt them raise as he threw the door open, intending to ask what they were talking about, only… nobody was there.

He could have sworn there was someone there, that they were talking just outside his room, ... But he was the only one even in his house. Somehow he knew this, even before looking around to confirm his suspicions, or felt the roof tremble under the weight of a dragon, Stormfly his brain told him, and he couldn’t help but feel confused until there was a knock at the door.

_Astrid._

* * *

The Nightfury had listened closely as Valka explained everything to him, slowly enough that he could process her words and understand what she was saying, even with his grasp of the language still loose, the fact that Cloudjumper had translated for her, made everything click into place.

So it was his own fault, the pain that Hiccup was going through earlier in the day. He caused it. He didn’t understand, until Valka had showed him. Peeled back her sleeves to show the dull golden scales rushing across her flesh, engulfing her arms within a matter of seconds, the color tugging at the back of his mind before Cloudjumper had held his tail closer to the dragon rider’s arm.

… So it happened to her too?

How he found himself climbing back up the hill towards the Haddock house, he wasn’t sure. Only that something tugged for him to race back to hiccup as quick as he could. His wings splayed open at his sides as his mind tried to tell him to slow down, angled them to try and catch the wind to make him pace himself. Aside from the strain, it didn’t help.

He raced past the Gronckle, Meatlug, and Fishlegs, past the Zippleback and the Thorston Twins, Past Hookfang and Snotlout. He didn’t hear the dragons call to him, he worried about Hiccup. Only skidding to a stop (nearly crashing into the house) When he saw Stormfly had Hiccup pressed against the door of the house, and was sniffing intently at his back. Her wings opening slowly. 

Toothless didn’t like it. 

And then Hiccup shrieked.

He didn’t know what made him do it, all he knew was that one moment he’d been staring at the Deadly Nadder smelling his rider’s back, and the next, he had Hiccup hidden under his wings, growling at not only Stormfly and Astrid, but the other teens he’d ridden with, all of them had confusion in their eyes, but their dragons on the other hand, had stepped in front of them, (Except Hookfang, who seemed more interested in ignoring Snotlout’s words to chase after a gull that had flown overhead.)

Toothless didn’t feel the talons on his back, or the hand under his chin, or hear Cloudjumper’s roar until he’d fallen limp on the ground, his body betraying his delight at the sensation of Valka scratching short, blunt nails along the underside of his jaw. Even as the Stormcutter had carefully grabbed Hiccup, and managed to somehow get back in the Haddock house _without_ destroying anything.

That alone was a feat.

* * *

Hiccup had opened the door to greet Astrid, only to walk outside and get tackled by Stormfly, with her nose buried in his hair and his back screaming in pain, he had done the only sensible thing that entered his mind, and by sensible, he means something that would have gotten him killed if it was a wild dragon.

He hissed at her. 

The Nadder had recoiled at the sound, as if she had been surprised, which had given him enough time to stand up, seeming to have forgotten Astrid was watching, frozen in place from the…strangely draconic sound. He found himself with his teeth bared, upper lip pulled up to show his teeth. And strangely the Nadder only turned her head to keep him out of her blindspot. 

He didn’t doubt that if he had a tail, it would be lashing. 

The bones protruding from his back screamed in agony as they moved, but the sudden motions of the Nadder quickly overrode that. The dragon had moved towards him, quickly too. Even as he snarled louder in a way that would leave his throat sore for the next week, it only faltered slightly, as if trying to ignore an order from something.

He felt himself spun around, his eyes darted to the spiny tail wrapped delicately around his stomach. Stormfly was being careful not to harm him with her spines. He was pressed carefully to the side of the building, and the Nadder’s nose was on his back, directly between the two sore bones.

He shrieked.

The Nadder was torn from his back suddenly, made him stumble as he crashed to the ground, saw a flash of black, and toothless was crouching over him, hiding him in his wings. He could hear the sound of Cloudjumpers wings beating, and strangely detected the scent of his mother. Toothless rolled to the side, and collapsed. 

Gentle talons grabbed him, pulled him to his feet and pressed him to a warm chest. Only to escort him inside. He wasn’t sure what had happened while Cloudjumper maneuvered carefully through the living room, and pushed his room door open with his tail, only to set him on the bed shortly after.

He didn’t even know why he didn’t react how he had when the Stormcutter nosed his shirt up to reveal the bones. 

He could feel them twitch to the cold air.

They were longer already.


	3. A Change in appearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out.
> 
> And Hiccup takes it better than Valka expected.
> 
> Or... he did at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I started writing this after I finished the 2nd chap...
> 
> why can I write things I shouldn't have in the first place, but not even focus on the main one I was?

He’d slept through the night, tossed and turned on his bed as the developing bones sapped his energy. Valka knew, she’d gone through it before. 

A tail wrapped around her, squeezed gently as if sensing her sudden emotional change. She smiled, “I’m alright, Cloudjumper” She said, leaning against the open flank of the Stormcutter, felt the wing descend over her to block out the frigid air as she stared up at the stars, scratching absentmindedly at the scales rushing across her palms, and engulfing her arms completely.

Cloudjumper knew. He always knew.

Teeth grabbed the back of her shirt, she didn’t react, only closed her eyes as she felt the ground disappear out from under her, felt herself be adjusted in the Stormcutters grip so she wouldn’t fall. Even as her bones roared at her, she kept her eyes closed. 

Cloudjumper continued going up. Wings beating against the air until a sudden, abrupt stop had Valka tilting her head up.

“I want to fly, Cloudjumper” She said quietly. 

And he released her.

She opened her eyes, looked down at the ground rushing up her. She didn’t blink an eye at it. Only opened her arms, and her descent slowed, even though pain rushed through her shoulders and sides, she continued.

Cloudjumper opened his wings in front of her, large eyes peering curiously at her with a content coo. She looked up, and saw the reflection she knew so well staring back at her. Another Stormcutter.

Her wings adjusted, allowing her to hover, the last of her human characteristics disappeared, and she tilted her head, mimicking Cloudjumper’s actions.

She didn’t tell him when she decided to fold her wings against herself again, to drop like a sack of potatoes towards the ground, heard the panicked roar of her companion as he rushed towards her. She couldn’t help but smile, and opened her wings again. unstable for a moment until talons carefully grabbed her own. 

Cloudjumper stared at her. She stared back.

_”You’re crazy”_ Cloudjumper cooed, Valka only laughed. her second pair of wings unfolding to hang past her tail. 

_”I haven’t been in this form for a few years, I need to relearn to fly”_ She told him, and Cloudjumper sighed. She felt herself pulled through the air carefully towards the forests, folded her wings to her flanks to keep them from hitting the higher branches. There was nothing she could do about her tail. 

Valka felt the ground return under her feet, and her wings released as the Stormcutter dropped down beside her. Watching.

_”This is like teaching a hatchling flight,”_ Cloudjumper told her, she swatted at him with her wing. He only chuckled, though continued with his words, _”Now listen.”_

* * *

Hiccup opened his eyes slowly, felt only searing heat around him as he shoved off the furs. Something was folded around him. It wasn’t Toothless, it didn’t smell like him. 

He saw a brief crack of light as he stretched, and a worried face staring down at him. He sat up, and the thing covering him vanished. There was a weight on his back. But he ignored it, only to try and calm down his friend, who seemed close to being inconsolable, seeing as the Night fury refused to relax, even though he tried to tell him he was fine.

His question as to why Toothless was so tense, was answered when he tried to push himself off the bed, only to lose his balance, and collapse in a heap on the floor. Toothless rushed to his side, and carefully nosed him back to his feet. Hiccup stared in confusion before he managed to turn his head enough to see what the weight was. 

Black wings tore through his shirt, smooth to the touch, though insanely warm. He looked over at Toothless, trying to figure something out. Only it hit him, they looked like his wings. 

He had Night Fury wings.

He shouldn’t have been as calm as he was, even when a Stormcutter pushed his door open, and looked at him with a familiarity that he knew Cloudjumper never had. (That and the fact Cloudjumper was craning his neck to peer through the door) led Hiccup to step back, the wings folding around him immediately. 

In which he promptly tripped over something else, and fell back first into the floor, pain shot up the merged section of his back and wings. He shrieked momentarily as he tried to focus on something other than the feeling of his wings being pulled open by his Mother, looking down at him in concern.

The other Stormcutter had left, leaving only Cloudjumper peering in from the hallway. Toothless was just on his other side. Valka was the only other person in the room. 

“Mom?” Hiccup whispered, his throat hurting and voice hoarse. Valka only patted his shoulder carefully, as if knowing of the pain.

“Easy, Hiccup.” She said, smiling lightly, and for a brief moment, Hiccup could have sworn her teeth looked more Stormcutter than human. But the thought quickly faded when he looked down to see the finned tail wrapped (or should he say tangled) around his leg. The same hue as his wings. 

Night Fury.

“Hiccup,” Valka’s voice broke him out of his curiosity, he only tilted his head up to look at her in confusion.

“We need to talk.”

* * *

Toothless was made to sit outside the house with Cloudjumper while Valka explained everything to Hiccup, his tail lashing quietly behind him as he glared at the door as though he would suddenly gain x-ray vision and see through it. 

The sound of claws clicking on rock made him whirl around, coming nose-to-nose with Hookfang, who only stared at him for a moment before looking up at the roof, where Toothless was easily able to smell the gull flapping around up there. (As well as hear Snotlout calling for Hookfang but he wouldn’t bring that up.)

The Nightmare simply stalked past him, watching the gull intently before it had seen him, and darted. Toothless barely managed to shrink back before Hookfang had rushed off after it. Leaving the Night fury and Stormcutter alone in front of the Haddock house, waiting for Valka to tell them they could come back inside.

His ears raised as he heard Hiccup’s voice raise from inside the house, 

_”Wait, waitwaitwaitwait,_ what?” The viking had said, though Valka’s answer was too quiet for Toothless to hear over the voice of Cloudjumper, who decided to speak up at that moment.

“You’re tense.” The Stormcutter commented, glancing over at the Alpha through the corner of his eye. Toothless only shook his head, wanting nothing more than to deny the observation, though he didn’t doubt that even if he tried to speak, his stress, and tension would show through his voice, so he simply decided to stay quiet. Pacing feverishly to occupy his mind.

“He isn’t in any danger.” Cloudjumper told him, and Toothless paused, looking over at the larger dragon with a slight tilt of the head, voicelessly asking what he meant.

“The boy, he is fine. There is nothing wrong with him, his body is reacting as it should to the changes.” The dragon clarified, and Toothless _laughed_ the sound strangely bitter. 

“He’s ‘fine’? If he’s fine then why did he sleep for three entire days?” Toothless said, turning to fully face the Stormcutter, who only returned his concern riddled gaze.

“His energy was being made to help the bones grow quicker, as you may have been able to see from when the Nadder had him pressed against the building. The instinctive reactions from your friend had caused his body to speed up the process, believing he was in danger. The lack of energy was what made him sleep for so long. It’s normal.” Cloudjumper explained, though Toothless only shook his head wildly, refusing the answer.

“But that isn’t _right_!” He hissed, scratching at the ground as if it would erase what had already happened to the boy’s body. “He isn’t meant to be a dragon! He’s supposed to be a _human_ ” Toothless said, only to lower his ears against his skull, peering at the door of the Haddock house. Hearing someone was just in front of it, actually, he knew who it was. It was Hiccup.

Before Cloudjumper could say anything, the door was yanked open, and a rather upset looking Hiccup walked through, his wings pressed stiffly against his back and tail lashing. Valka following carefully after him with a look of concern on her face.

“Toothless,” Hiccup’s voice brought the Nightfury’s attention from the Stormcutter and his rider, to Hiccup, a questioning warble leaving his throat as he trotted closer. Lowering his shoulder enough for the boy to climb onto the saddle, which he had done so without hesitation.

“Lets go to the cove.” Hiccup murmured, loud enough for the reptile to hear, with only a coo of agreement before he forced himself to turn away from the worried duo still standing by the door, ignoring the sound of Astrid’s footsteps getting quicker as he darted over the hill, wings opening enough that he didn’t have to really try to enter the air again, pushing him into the sky above, Hiccup’s hand resting lightly against the small ridges on the top of his head, a comforting gesture.

* * *

Hiccup gazed wordlessly at the passing trees, silently thankful for Toothless taking a slower pace, to let him think over the troubles rushing through his head. His tail shifting uncomfortably against the sleek scales of the Nightfury’s back, brushing against the longer, split ridges running down the length of his body.

“Toothless,” Hiccup said after a moment, feeling the reptile tilt his head a bit to glance at him. “... Did you know this would happen?” He asked, almost regretting the words as soon as he said them, though his nerves were quickly settled with a denying coo. 

He’d learned to tell when Toothless was lying to him, it’d been a rather interesting time doing so. The time it took had caused more pieces of scrap metal falling on him than he would have in his lifetime of working at the forge. And he wasn’t lying when he’d answered. Hiccup simply nodded to the Nightfury, who had slowed his pace to a hover in curiosity.

“... It’s just… this was a lot to take in, y’know?” Hiccup sighed, feeling the wind shift against his wings (mentally putting away the fact that they were still incredibly sensitive to the wind, so it had hurt the first few seconds in the air when Toothless was going his usual pace in the air… That may have been what had the Nightfury keeping a slow glide.) when the cat-like dragon resumed the flight, diving down immediately as they drew near to the cove.

His wings instinctively opened, the strain of the wing buffeting against them made a hiss leave Hiccup’s throat, though the extra appendages refused to close, the tiny voice in his mind screaming that he wouldn’t catch himself, that he would crash to the ground if he closed his wings. 

Hiccup honestly couldn’t care at this moment, just wanting the pain to end. His eyes clenching shut as he fought back the hiss that bubbled in the back of his throat, and the sudden warmth rising from his chest into the back of his neck, fearing just what might happen if he tried to speak. 

His body lurched to the side, despite the belts holding him in place as the Nightfury landed as gracefully, and as carefully as he could without too much strain on the Chief’s wings. Hiccup could hear the startled warble escape Toothless as he managed to free himself from the belts around his waist, sliding the rest of the way to the grassy earth. His wings folding around him to try and calm his frantically beating heart.

Hiccup waited for a few minutes, feeling the warmth in his throat slowly disappear back into his chest, and the stinging in his back mute into a dull throbbing, just to remind him it was still there. Even as his eyes finally stopped watering, he continued to sit in the warmth of his wings. Only peeling them away once he opened his eyes, easing the slowly oranging light into his vision once more. 

The resulting grunt from the Nightfury made Hiccup glance over at him, sighing lightly to offer an apologetic smile, “I’m fine, Bud. I told you that didn’t I?” He said, only receiving a look that told him all he needed to know. Though the resulting groan only made him roll his eyes.

“I heard you the first time.”

* * *

Valka watched quietly as Hiccup climbed carefully onto Toothless’ back, one of Cloudjumper’s wings carefully folding around her to bring her closer to the warm flank. To help fight off the biting cold that was starting to set in as the sun lowered. She could hear as Astrid spoke to Stormfly, the Deadly Nadder that had been investigating the reason to Hiccups scent change only a few days before. She barely acknowledged the blue figure taking to the air, heading off in the same direction Toothless and Hiccup had gone.

If only she had thought to warn the Blonde Viking. 

Cloudjumper’s coo brought her attention to the Stormcutter, a brow raising as an answer.

_”Settle down, you’re worrying too much over nothing.”_ the four-winged dragon told her, and Valka laughed, lightly scratching under his chin.

_”You worry too much, Cloudjumper.”_ She told him. 

_”I’m certain he’ll come back, His energy is low enough that he’ll return shortly for something to restore what he’s lost already these past three days.”_ Cloudjumper cooed, butting his head lightly against Valka’s shoulder.

_”How much longer do you think it will take?”_ she asked after a moment, and the Stormcutter paused, thinking it over.

_”From the presence of the Nightfury, perhaps another two days, at most. If the transformation doesn’t finish tonight at least. His body is still reacting to the Deadly Nadder. You saw how fast his wings and tail had developed.”_ He told her, and Valka nodded, chewing quietly on her lower lip.

_”I just hope he can control the dragon instincts… otherwise…”_ Her voice trailed, and Cloudjumper took that as his signal to grab the back of her shirt, hauling her from the ground as he started walking back towards the forest.

_”Flight lessons it is.”_


	4. Instinct Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His eyes darted around the cove, wings flaring open as Toothless tried to calm him. His tail flicking about as his ears flattened, teeth baring at the night fury in front of him.
> 
> He had to get out of here...  
> .  
> .  
> .  
>  _and now_

The moon had risen quickly, and Hiccup had found himself nestled comfortably against Toothless’s flank, eyes closing calmly as he subconsciously pressed closer to the warmth at his back, a tail curling loosely around his waist. His muscles slowly relaxed, one by one as the hunger in his stomach quickly disappeared, allowing him to focus on rest, a pain that resonated from deep within his bones forcing him to adjust how he was sitting to have the Night fury lay a wing carefully over his cold form, the rhythmic rumbling the the reptile’s throat lulling him into a dreamless slumber.

His bones burned, muscles screamed, and his mind clouded, heat rising in his throat as a familiar shriek of a Night Fury preparing to fire came to his ears. Snapping him out of the stupor to look around, only to see Toothless was watching him with a wary gaze, and for some reason, they were the same size.

Hiccup managed to suppress the heat in his throat after feeling it leak further into his mouth. Trying to stand up, he stumbled, losing balance immediately as he collapsed to his side, pain rushing through his side as a roar ripped through his throat, the sound startling him enough to make him roll away from the rock he’d landed on. 

He barely looked at Toothless as he managed to half-stumble over to the pool of water in the cove, to stare down in distress at the reflection of a Night Fury staring back up at him. Its pupils narrowed to predatory slivers, and teeth bared in a threat. His tail smacked the water, erasing the image, only to replace it with another Night Fury, eyes widened in confusion, and ears laid back in a defensive concept.

A quick glance down at his body, confirmed that the reflection was not in fact, a hallucination like he expected, rather he was indeed a Night Fury. And Toothless had been steadily creeping closer, the sound of the footsteps on the rock snapped him into a defensive positions, wings flaring open as he roared a subconscious threat to the Nightfury.

Toothless said something, he wasn’t sure what, he couldn’t understand him.

His eyes darted around the cove, wings only opening wider as Toothless tried to calm him. His tail flicking about as his ears flattened, teeth baring at the night fury in front of him.

He had to get out of here…  
.  
.  
.  
and _now_

He wasn’t thinking when it happened, ignored the roar from his companion as his wings unfurled to their full size, and thrashed against the air, throwing him into the sky just enough that he could get himself closer to the edge of the cove before falling out of balance, and crashing back to the ground. Dirt scattering around him as he managed to haul himself back to his feet, repeating the action to try again, motions panicked and flighty. He had to get away. 

He _had to_

* * *

The flying lessons were cut short as a roar tore through the air, Cloudjumpers head shooting up as he peered off in the direction of the cove. Pupils narrowing with a growl that told Valka all she needed to know. 

Hiccup had lost to the instincts.

_”Lets go Cloudjumper, we’ve got to try and put some sense into him.”_ Valka said, opening the quadruple wings at her sides, mimicking the Stormcutter’s actions as she lifted herself into the air.

_”He’s afraid, confused.”_ Cloudjumper informed her, keeping close in the event she stumbled, to catch her before she fell to the ground and hurt herself. _”A cornered Nightfury, is a dangerous one.”_ The reptile said simply, trusting that Valka would follow as he dove into the cover of the trees.

* * *

Hiccup tried once more, his wings beating against the air as he managed to get a few feet off the ground, only to lose balance and drop to the ground in a graceless heap of black and navy scales, giving a very similar sight to the times Toothless had attempted to fly off, and crashed to the ground. 

His entire body ached, screaming from the torture he was putting it through, as well as the pain from the change. Dragging himself back to his feet, he whipped around as Toothless gave a concerned coo, only being answered by a hiss as he forced himself to try and fly once again, only to crash back to the ground once more, water scattering as his wings smacked the rippling surface.

The Night fury tensed as he heard approaching wingbeats, momentarily forgetting about Toothless to glare up at the air, the telltale shriek of a flame preparing in his throat tore through the air. A wing flashed into his sight, he fired.

* * *

Cloudjumper weaved through the trees as though they were the cave he’d come to know as home, dodging under branches, and twisting through small spaces between trunks. He could hear Valka mimicking his movements, wings beating in unison with one another as he drew nearer to the cove. The loud shrieking had him speeding up, he knew it was Hiccup, he could smell the fear wafting off of the boy in waves. 

His wing broke through the canopy of trees, a plasma blast shot past him, barely giving him enough time to duck under it, though sadly a tree beside him wasn’t spared, a thick space burned through the tough wood.

It was worse than he thought.

Valka visibly recoiled as the plasma blast shot past Cloudjumper, nearly hitting his wing, though the Stormcutter had quickly dove to avoid it, she heard the searing sound of the shot burning through the bark of a tree. She spared a glance over at the crackling wood, to gauge how long it had until falling. 

Her tail whipped around behind her as she darted past the tree, to catch up with Cloudjumper, who had taken shelter behind the thicker foliage near the cove, peering down to try and see if he could figure out how to approach without scaring Hiccup any further.

_”How bad is it?”_ Valka asked quietly, landing carefully beside him to peer into the cove, watching intently as Toothless maneuvered to keep the artificial fin from being hit by the plasma blasts that were shot at him. _”... Never mind, I answered my own questions…”_ she whispered. Ducking down as Hiccup’s attention shot towards the foliage, watching.

_”There is something that we might be able to do…”_ Cloudjumper whispered, turning his head towards Valka, carefully lowering his head to nudge at her shoulder, _”But it is dangerous, and I cannot guarantee it will work.”_

_”If it can help get Hiccup back to his senses, then I don’t care for the risk, just tell me what it is.”_ Valka hissed quietly, peering at the Stormcutter through the corner of her eye.

* * *

“Hiccup?”

His wings lowered slightly at the voice, craning his neck a bit to see Valka slowly descending the rocky slope, her staff helping her on the way down to keep hold of the cracks and holes in the boulders. The Nightfury only remained still, slowly lowering his head to watch the woman’s movements.

“Can you hear me?”

He growled, almost as if anticipating an attack as she drew closer, momentarily disappearing behind Toothless as the other Nightfury darted in front of her, to shield her from any oncoming attacks he might decide to throw at her. Hiccup only rolled his eyes, backing up slightly to put a bit more distance between he and the two near the opening to the cove, ignorant to the steadily approaching Cloudjumper.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes, I can hear you,” Valka sighed, lightly patting Toothless’s neck as she carefully moved around him, staff left abandoned on the rocks as she held her hands up, to show she had nothing of danger on her.

Hiccup still remained defensive, tail whipping violently behind him as he stumbled slightly, quickly peering back at his hind legs to try and figure out what the issue was, only to growl aggressively as he glared at the scarred leg. And while it didn’t hinder his movements _that_ much, it was still a slightly annoying thing to be reminded of.

Slowly, Valka continued to approach, her steps light and careful to avoid startling him any further than he already was, watching Cloudjumper through the corner of her eye as well was quite a task, to try and keep the Stormcutter from approaching too early, though Toothless was determined on moving after her, not that she could blame him, he and hiccup were practically inseparable since she’d returned to Berk.

Her eyes widened slightly as Hiccup seemed to have finally noticed Cloudjumper, barely blinked before the shriek of fire tore through the air, and a thud reverberated through her very core.

“Cloudjumper!” She called, forgetting about the threat of her currently-night fury son, and rushed over to the Stormcutter, struggling to stand back up. Her eyes immediately drifting to where the plasma blast had hit, the scales broken and bleeding from the force. Her worry must have been clear, as the Stormcutter carefully adjusted to where standing wasn’t so painful, and gave an assuring coo. 

“Don’t tell me that, you’re not fine!” Valka said, ignoring the confused chirping from Hiccup as the Nightfury stepped closer, heard only the threatening snarls from Cloudjumper as a wing folded over her, shrouding her from the world.

* * *

Hiccup wasn’t certain what had happened, for a moment he’d heard his mother, saw her coming close in what seemed like wariness, with her hands at her sides. Only something had forced his mind back, a heat building dangerously in his throat until something got too close, releasing it in a single blast, the telltale sound of something falling echoing through the air, and the shriek of his mother.

He wasn’t sure why Cloudjumper was bleeding, or why the Stormcutter was snarling at him as though he’d tried to attack his mother, _… he didn’t right?_ His confusion was voiced through chirps and clicks, something he didn’t seem to notice, even as he heard his own voice as he normally would. 

_”What- what happened? Why are you bleeding?”_ he’d tried to ask, though cloudjumper only flared up at him, made him dodge to the side as a flurry of flames were shot at him, singing part of his face with a hiss

Why was Cloudjumper acting so hostile? He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he?


End file.
